During dismissal, middle school carpool students are no longer allowed to cross over into the parking lot to their parents and cars are now filed into a double line for pick-up. The middle school administration is hoping to establish safety and efficiency to the carpool line with these decisions.

Middle School Director Genevieve Hoppe said that long lines, extensive waits, and unsupervised children were major problems in previous years, which prompted these decisions to be made.

“In the afternoon for dismissal, the issue we were facing was that either the carpool line would be really, really, long or we would have a lot of kids that were crossing over the crosswalk and into the parking lot,” said Mrs. Hoppe, “and when you have parents that are coming and going and then student drivers, it was causing a safety issue.”

Parents and students have responded to this in various ways, a majority alluding to the overall improvement of safety.

Amy Griffen, parent of a sixth-grader and a ninth-grader, responded to the change and said, “it’s probably a good idea for safety.

“I think it’s keeping kids safe,” said sixth-grader Ummu Bah. “It makes things flow much easier.”

The middle school also went through with the decision to make a double carpool line to make sure dismissal moves quickly.

“We are getting the carpool through very quickly,” said Mrs. Hoppe, “the longest wait we’ve ever had, from when the bell rang to when the last car came through, was 18 minutes and that’s 300 kids in 18 minutes.”

As the school year progresses, communication between parents and students will have to become a priority for the middle school.